Girls basketball pairings set up intrigue
The pairings for the WIAA girls basketball tournament were announced Sunday.
Here is a look at a few of the brackets as teams begin their quest to get to the state tournament March 9-11 at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon.
DIVISION 1 Can Brookfield East, Kettle Moraine make it back?
Brookfield East fell one game short of the Division 1 state title game a season ago in a 44-40 nailbiter against a 23-win Appleton East squad in the semifinals, while top-ranked Kettle Moraine went 2-for-2 in Ashwaubenon to take home the program’s first gold ball since 1999.
The pair of stellar programs are back again in prime position to play for the title after Sunday’s bracket reveal. In Sectional 3, the Spartans are the top overall seed, while Grace Grocholski, Braelyn Torres and the defending champion Lasers are the top-seeded side in Sectional 4.
The Spartans could have a matchup with No. 2 seed Arrowhead in the Sectional 3 final. Arrowhead is coming off an 81-68 victory over Germantown, one of the two No. 1 seeds in Sectional 2.
The Lasers have an interesting hypothetical in the sectional semifinals if they advance that far. No. 4 seed Kenosha Bradford has quietly kept itself in the Southeast Conference title race (more on this in just a second) and could provide a challenge for the defending champions later in the tournament.
A potential third matchup between Southeast rivals
Speaking of the Southeast Conference, how about a third duel to settle things in the sectional semifinals?
In Kettle Moraine’s side of the bracket, No. 2 seed Franklin and No. 3 Oak Creek have a possible third meeting looming with a chance for a spot in the sectional final against defending state champion KM.
The rivals have split their matchups. Franklin ended Oak Creek’s 135-conference game winning streak on Jan. 3 in a 45-31 upset, but the Knight exacted some revenge in a 59-53 game Feb. 3.
If both programs can win their two regional matchups, a sectional semifinal matchup to break the season deadlock would come March 2.
DIVISION 2 Can Union Grove get over the hump?
As dominant as the Broncos have been in the last four seasons, there’s one thing that’s eluded them and that’s an appearance in the state tournament.
Since the 2019-20 season, the Broncos have won 84 games, including 20 in 21 games this season and their fourth straight Southern Lakes Conference. Stars Sophia Rampulla and Sydney Ludvigsen both have had another good season.
They come into Sectional 3 as one of the two No. 1 seeds, and if the top seeds all advance, the Broncos would be staring down a sectional semifinal meeting with No. 2 seed Waukesha West, the team that ended that 2019-20 season in a regional final.
The Wolverines can still nab a share of the Classic 8 Conference title with a pair of victories in the final week of the season, but their finale is against topranked Kettle Moraine.
Pewaukee’s path back to state
For the Pirates to get back to the title game, their path will have a heavy Woodland Conference feel with a potential pinch of the Metro Classic in the sectional semifinals.
In their regional opener, they’ll play the South Milwaukee-Greendale winner. A win there puts them in the semifinals against either Greenfield or New Berlin Eisenhower. The Pirates will play Greenfield on Wednesday, but they’ve already swept Greendale and beat Eisenhower by 29 points on Jan. 24.
The sectional semifinals could bring a meeting with No. 2 Martin Luther and a third meeting with top-seeded Pius XI for a chance to clinch another state title berth. Pewaukee hasn’t played Greenfield or Martin Luther, but when a team is 5-0 against three potential opponents in the playoffs, it’s set up pretty nicely for a good run.
DIVISION 3 Can anyone stop Dominican from returning to the Resch?
The Knights made their first state tournament appearance in 11 seasons a year ago and are one of the No. 1 seeds in Sectional 4 this season.
Dominican’s Keona McGee and Alicia Burgos, along with the team’s methodical offense, make the Knights such a tough out, but the bottom of their portion in the bracket makes things interesting.
No. 2 seed University School of Milwaukee possesses one of the area’s better scorers in Mya Hartjes, while No. 3 seed Milwaukee Academy of Science has one of the state’s most productive 1-2 punches in Beautiful Waheed and Lalani Ellis. Either team could provide a stern challenge for Dominican in the sectional semifinals.
DIVISION 4 Will The Prairie School end its state appearance drought?
The last time The Prairie School reached the state tournament, Gabrielle Ortiz was still a year away from becoming the school’s first and only Miss Basketball award winner. The Hawks last made the state tournament in 2013 and this year’s side is more than capable of ending that decade-long drought.
They’re a couple of days away from potentially sharing a Metro Classic crown, and before this past weekend’s loss to a really good Union Grove team in nonconference action, they hadn’t lost since Dec. 2, a two-point defeat to MCC rival Dominican. With JJ Barnes, Reese Jaramillo and Meg Decker each averaging over 12 points a game, the Hawks have the firepower to make a deep run.
If the Hawks work their way through the regional and get past a potential matchup with No. 2 seed Living Word Lutheran, a meeting with Laconia could loom in a matchup of top-six ranked teams in the sectional title game.